This morning is the first day of our trip to Vegas for Affiliate Summit. My husband and I met up with Wade Tonkin, Shawn Collins, Missy Ward, Lisa Picarille. and Sam Harrleson in the lobby of the Rio and headed out for our walk. We walked for about an hour at a fairly good clip through some of the more...interesting areas off the Las Vegas Strip. We had a pretty good time and light banter and we'll be going out again tomorrow morning. I did notice that I really need a new pair of shoes though...Forum Shops here I come!

No, I'm not talking about which team won or lost the Super Bowl...I'm talking about me! Despite all the high calorie delicious foods I could have had at our family's Super Bowl party, I managed to keep it under control and lose weight.

I'm now down to 242 and still doing the Medifast thing. I am down to the last packets though which isn't as much fun or delicious. The packets I have left are the stuff that I don't really care for (even in normal everyday life like tomato soup, yuck) but I can suck it up and deal with it for a couple of weeks.

It's definitely worth it!

Well, I'm back at it...I never really stopped, but I wasn't really focused on losing weight over the holidays. I should have been, but I wasn't. Can't worry about it too much I guess, just need to move forward.

While I was a bit lazy with my blogging and my gym habits, I was pretty good watching what I ate, so now I'm at 244. That's 12 pounds lost so far! Not too shabby, but I won't be meeting Heather Paulson by the pool at Affiliate Summit in Vegas. Boston this summer maybe, but Vegas in February? Not for this Cali girl! Too cold!

The last couple of days, I've been hitting the gym...

It's been a hectic weekend and I feel like I've crammed more than two days into it somehow. Our oldest daughter was away this weekend at Brownie camp, so on Saturday we took our two little ones to the Train Museum in Downtown Sac. It was a blast...our son is four and he was so excited that he was a total spaz and hard to keep up with.

Nice thing is that the trip provided me with some serious walking just trying to keep up with the meanderings of him and our 2 year old daughter, plus it's a three story building, so we took the stairs instead of the elevators. Of course, afterwards we stopped and had ice cream, but I only had a kid's size scoop and since it was in Old Sac, the kid's size was about 3 tablespoons worth of Mint Chip. Not on the diet, but overall, not a banana split sized cheat either.

Today, I went out and mowed the back lawn and did a bit of edging before it rains this next week, so that was about 45 minutes of steady workout as well.

Tomorrow, my goal is to drop off my oldest at school and then hit the gym in the morning. Here's to a shred of workout willpower on Monday morning!

Well, it's been awhile since I checked in here, and that's my bad. I had a rough bit getting back on the diet after I got sick and didn't eat to well for about a month and all that tempting Halloween candy! Luckily, I haven't gained anything. This morning I was at 249 and I started doing Medifast again yesterday. I did cheat a little this morning, but that was because I gave blood and almost passed out and they made me have some orange juice and fruit. (Not from hunger, but because I'm actually really scared of needles and thought about it too much at the end of my donation.)

I can't excerise at the gym until tomorrow because I donated, but that's ok...one step at a time. Here's to jumping back on the wagon!

I believe (knock on wood) that I am finally over the nasty head cold that I've had for the better part of two weeks. My throat is still a little scratchy, but I no longer sound like I'm possessed.

I haven't been good while I've been sick but just ate what sounded good to eat instead. Luckily, the scale hasn't budged at all so I've lost a little time, but no ground.

I'm attending my cousin's wedding this weekend, so I'll have to be careful with the family around. There's always tons of delicious food whenever we get together...but frankly, I'd rather be slender than have a slice of pie.

This past weekend, Joel and I headed to Petaluma for a concert (Dick Dale, opened by the Pyronauts - awesome concert) and well...let's just say I wasn't on my best diet behavior.

We visited Chevy's on Friday and on Saturday I took my little sister to my favorite restaurant near Union Square...Johnny Foley's. Delicious! We also made a Starbucks run Saturday night. I tried to be good everyplace we went...I didn't even attempt to finish my meals, and I avoided my "chips" from my fish and chips and ate half of my sister's salad instead.

All told I didn't do too bad...my Monday weigh-in weight was 250...that's down 6 pounds.

Now I just have to kick this darn cold I picked up over the weekend and I can get back to the gym. Working out while sneezing and wheezing just isn't very appealing.

Affiliate Fit Club has officially started and I am determined to lose this extra baggage!

Here's how I plan to lose the weight:
Food: Medifast - this is a meal replacement system that I tried back in October 2006. I did well on it, until my Grandfather passed away and my family spent a lot of time together...eating. It's both a blessing and a curse that my family makes fantastic pastries, candies, and other sweet fattening things. I'm also the Medifast program manager.

Excercise: Gym - 4 days a week. My gym is the same place where my oldest daughter takes ballet, so I have to go at least twice a week. I also have a set of 5 lb weights at home to work with as well as a pair of jump ropes so hubby can join me in the driveway. I've never been a big runner, but maybe I'll pick that up as I slim down.

The hardest thing for me wiill be giving up soda and sweets. I am a caffeine addict and I love to bake!

Name:	Karen Garcia
Age:	30
Height:	5'6"
Starting Weight:	256 lbs
Target Weight:	200 lbs
Bio:	I haven't always been overweight. In fact, I used to be quite athletic and played field hockey and lacrosse. I ate fairly healthy and never worried too much about my weight until I had kids. Three beautiful children equated to a gain of 110 pounds over 8 years. This is very unhealthy, especially in a family prone to diabetes. I will lose the weight to be a better role model for my kids and to get back into the shape I was before. When I am back in shape, I will be able to run in the park with my kids without being embarassed, I will be able to shop for clothes where ever I like, and I will feel and look better.